A10 shenanigans: How not to fire a coach

UMass' Atlantic 10 rival St. Louis axed head coach Brad Soderberg in the sketchiest way possible today. The team went 20-13 last season, but hasn't played a postseason game for three years. The firing seems to be mostly a result of the university being $7.5 million behind its fundraising goals related to their new arena (slated to open in 2008). The timing of this move just seems terrible: Not only has the coaching carousel run its course already, but then there's this little tidbit:

The move came two days after the annual team banquet and six days after Soderberg signed a pair of recruits to national letters of intent.

That's an awfully weak way to treat your new recruits. By doing things the way they did, the university puts itself in a position where it needs to track down a replacement who is a known commodity, to reassure the fans and the players that the program is in good hands. Pulling sketchball moves like this sends the exact opposite message.

This situation surprises me, because prior to this the rumblings coming from St. Louis were about the possibility of the school leaving the Atlantic 10 and joining the Missouria Valley Conference. I guess that had led me to believe that they had their act together a little more than they actually do.